Example Consent Form Psychology – Everybody should be able to make educated decisions about their medical care. Medical procedures can be injurious, and patients must be able to ultimately determine according to the known risks, how their bodies will be treated. Thus, before medical professionals are permitted to treat patients, they need to receive the process of informed consent.
Informed consent constitutes a lawful condition under which a patient is given a complete and accurate description of his or her physical condition as well as the treatment that is recommended by the physician who is acting as the patient’s physician. Once this information is received the patient must offer the physician consent to treat before any form of treatment is provided. Without the patient’s informed consent any health professional is not allowed to provide treatment.
Decision Making Capacity
In certain instances patients lack the capacity to comprehend their options in terms of treatment and the risks/benefits associated with each one. In other cases, patients may not be able to communicate their decisions to the health care professionals. In these situations the patient is said not to possess the proper capacity for decision-making. Family members or a court appointed representative then, is allowed to give informed consent in lieu of the patient.
Patients that are strongly influenced by their emotions such as anxiety or fear, for example can be deemed to not able to make decisions. The ones who are asleep clearly cannot make decisions on their independent of themselves, so outsiders must provide consent for treatment instead.
Items in an Example Consent Form Psychology
Certain elements are commonly included in informed consent forms:
The patient’s medical conditions/diagnosis
The treatment that is recommended by the acting physician
The benefits and risks associated with this method of treatment
There are alternative treatments available, along with their potential risks and benefits
The potential risks and rewards with accepting no treatment at all
Not only must these items be recorded in the documentation However, they should also communicated with the person receiving the treatment. This way, he can be fully aware of all the details of the scenario and will receive immediate responses to any issues that may be arising.